HOW TO BE HAPPY
Luke 6:20-31
THE ATTITUDE OF BELIEVERS
V:20. " And turning His gaze on His disciples, He began
to say, "Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is
the kingdom of God
A. The Lord's focus
is always on His disciples.
1. Jesus is concerned
about every aspect of our lives.
2. Everything
that has to do with our wholeness is the concern of Jesus.
B. Jesus teaches us
through His Word.
1. To know Jesus
, requires continuous Bible Study.
C. Blessed=
markarious= fortunate, well off, happy
1. It is Jesus
desire that His disciples be happy.
2. He describes
Happy in terms of having less now for more
in Heaven.
3. Poor= ptochos=
beggar.
4. We beg to get
an understanding of the Word.
a. We have a
longing to be close to the Lord.
b. It should
be our desire to apply the Word to our daily living.
D. The Kingdom belongs
to those who trust the Lord.
1. Those who
follow the Lord must learn to be content with what they have.
a. Riches and
fame are not the product of righteousness.
b. Trials and
tribulations are the product of following Jesus.
2. Those who
follow Jesus are fortunate because they have Jesus as their
Lord and
Savior.
a. Jesus is
their protector and provider.
b. Jesus
promised to give us that which we need but not always in excess.
3. Those who
follow Jesus are fortunate because they are promised a place in
heaven.
a. The earth
is the Lord's and the fullness there of.
b. We have
this confidence in the Lord that whatever we ask in Jesus name
will be
done for us according to His will. 1
John 5:14
c. We must
learn that true happiness is not based on what we have in this world
but what we have in Jesus.
V: 21 "Blessed
are you who hunger now, for you shall be satisfied. Blessed are you
who weep now, for you
shall laugh."
A. Those who follow
the Lord make sacrifices and often go without for the benefit of
others.
1. We rise early
in search of the good we can do for the sake of Christ.
2. We hunger for what is right, but evil is
always present.
B. We are blessed
because whatever we do for Christ is counted in heaven and held
in reserve for
us in times of need.
1. We are
satisfied because we know in our hearts that the Grace of God is always
sufficient for
us. 2 Cor 12:9
2. We have this
testimony that the God we serve has always supplied our needs.
a. We have
this testimony that when we could not see the way, God made a way.
b. We have
this testimony that when we were sad and broken, in time God will
made us whole
again.
C. There are times
when we weep because our efforts to make a difference in the lives
of families and
others seem never to be enough.
1. There are
times when our trials and tribulations overwhelm us because there
seem to be no end
in sight.
2. But in the
sweet "By And By" as we and our families grow and mature, God
reveals to us that
our efforts have not been in vain and that we have made a
difference.
3. We find Joy in
the victories that the Lord has guided us to.
4. We find Joy
when God brings an end to that which troubles us.
5. There is joy
when we look back over our lives and discover that God has used all
that we have
been through to grow us into mature and happy Christians.
V: 22. "Blessed
are you when men hate you, and ostracize you, and cast insults at you,
and spurn your name
as evil, for the sake of the Son of Man."
A. To follow Jesus
you have to take up a cross.
1. The cross is
the burden we bear for the sake of Christ.
2. Men hated
Christ for all the good that He did.
a. He was
condemned and crucified because evil men despised the Lord of
righteousness.
b. Following
Christ, we will suffer some of the same troubles and insults that
He
endured for our salvation.
B. We are blessed
because Jesus is our advocate in Heaven and the Holy Spirit is
our advocate
that indwells us.
1. When we
decide to devote ourselves to the Lord, the Devil gets busy trying to
bring us
down.
2. The Devil is
creative in his efforts to steal, kill and destroy our work for the
Lord.
3. We are
strengthen and adequately equipped with gifts and talents to endure the
wise of the
devil.
4. We will find
joy in the victories we win through our faith in the Lord Jesus.
5.
We are happy because the Devil and his demons are no match for Jesus.
23 "Be glad in
that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven;
for in the same way
their fathers used to treat the prophets."
A. We have the testimony
of the Word that all the prophets of the Lord in their efforts
to serve him
were abused and mistreated by evil men as they proclaim His Word
to the world.
1. We also have
the testimony of the Word that a place in heaven was reserved for
them.
2. We have the
testimony of the Word that the Lord strengthen them to endure the
trials they
faced while they lived.
B. We should be
joyful because we are counted among the prophets suffering as they
did for the Lord.
1. We should not
be ashamed for our suffering because we walk in the same spirit
and have the
same cause of uplifting Jesus as the prophets of the Old and New
Testaments.
2. Surely as the
prophets were rewarded in heaven, so will we be rewarded.
a. God took
care of His prophets and He will take care of us.
UNDERSTANDING THE EMENIES OF CHRIST
V:24 "But woe to
you who are rich, for you are receiving your comfort in full."
A. There is a
disadvantage of being rich.
1. The rich get
all their accolades on earth, but none are reserved for heaven.
2. In heaven,
the first will be last, and the last will be first.
B. The problem with
being rich is that it causes one to be over confident and self
centered.
1. It is easy for
the rich to forget the God who provides and assume that they made
it by their own
efforts.
2. Those who have
everything they need have little to drive them to their knees in
prayer.
3. Those who are
rich and don't know the Lord have little to drive them to the
Father.
a. They are
rich in stuff, but empty in the spirit.
b. They have
all of their desires here and nothing stored in heaven.
c. They have a
home on earth and a home in Hell.
V:25. "Woe to
you who are well-fed now, for you shall be hungry. Woe to you who
laugh now, for you
shall mourn and weep."
A. Those who don't
know the Lord have some troubling times ahead of them.
1. From the
world's point of view, they do well now.
2. They have
all the world's goods and happy times.
3. They live as
if tomorrow is promised and there will be more of the same.
4. They are
unaware that what they have come from the Lord and will soon
return to Him.
5. They are
unaware that what they have today can be gone tomorrow.
B. The well- to- do
spend their days in glory of themselves and give no credit
and glory to the Lord.
1. They are
unaware that a time will come when there will be sorrow in their lives
and the laughter will stop.
2. Having no
relationship with the Lord and no foundation in the Word, they will
not know how to
find joy in troubling times.
3. In sickness,
and the prospect of death their laughter will turn to sorrow.
a. There is a
place called hell where there will be no laughter.
b. They spend
no time preparing for an eternity with the Father, so hell is their
destination.
V: 26. "Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for
in the same way their fathers
used to treat the
false prophets."
A. Preachers and
teachers of the Word must be careful not to seek to please men.
1. The world is
opposed to the doctrine of Jesus Christ.
2. When the world speaks well of your
teaching perhaps you are not preaching the
penalty of
sin and the need to repent.
B. The job of
preachers and teachers are to preach the whole Gospel of Jesus Christ.
1. It is easy to
preach for the praise of men.
2. We can teach
all the promises of God without teaching the sacrifices required
to obtain
the promises.
3. We can teach
"Ask and You Shall Receive" without teaching to ask according to
the will of
God. John 16:23
4. We can teach
the salvation of Jesus Christ without teaching the renewal of the
mind.
C. We can teach the
goodness of God without teaching the sure troubles that come
from taking up the
cross.
1. We must be
careful to teach Jesus and the cross required to follow Him.
2. When the
world knows that to follow Jesus is to die for Jesus, the praise will
stop.
LIVING FOR CHRIST;
BLESSING OTHERS
V:27 "But I say
to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you."
A. Believers are
taught to love their enemies.
1. That is a new
language that is different from the world.
2. To love your
enemies require a renewal of the mind.
3. To love you enemies require a new attitude.
4. To love our enemies require us to realize
that we were once enemies of Christ,
who loved us
enough to give up His life for our salvation.
B. Believers are
taught to do good to those who hate them.
1. That is a new
language.
2. To do good for
our enemies requires a renewal of the mind.
3. To do good for
our enemies requires a new attitude that is different from the
world.
V: 28. " Bless those who curse you, pray for those who
mistreat you."
A. To bless those who
cruse you requires a new attitude.
1. Bless =
eulogeite = speak well of.
2. To speak well
of someone who speaks bad of you requires the love of Jesus
Christ.
3. A good word
from a believer may be the encouragement needed for a none
believer to come to Christ.
a. It takes
as much effort to say something good as it does to say something bad.
b. It takes
as much effort to build up a person as it does to tear down a person.
c. We don't
have to let the ugliness of another
person to cause us to act ugly.
B. To pray for those
who mistreat you require a new attitude.
1. It is not
normal to pray for someone whose intention is to bring you down.
2. The old man in
the believer is dead and a new man in the believer is alive in
Christ . Col
3. Because of the
newness we have in Christ Jesus, we can pray for the one who
mistreats us
with love. Col
4. It maybe
possible that the one who mistreats you have never been treated with
love.
a. Acts of
kindness can change a person's way of thinking.
b. Acts of
kindness can open the door to changed relationships.
c. Acts of
kindness can be the light that draws people to Jesus.
5. Hurting people
say hurting things.
a. It is
possible that God allows us to face hurting people to build them up.
b. Our job is
to introduce the sick to a doctor (Jesus) who can heal them.
Mat. 9:12
V:29. "Whoever hits you on the cheek, offer him
the other also; and whoever takes
away your coat, do
not withhold your shirt from him either."
A. God is our
revenge.
1. We must never
be in a hurry to get revenge for any wrong done to us.
2. Jesus teaches
us to turn the other cheek.
a. The meaning here is to pass it off.
Just let it go.
b. Do not let your anger get the best of you.
3. By trying to
get revenge, we may cause the person to be more violent towards us.
a. God is
equipped to handle our enemies better than we can.
b. God knows
how to avenge our case in ways we cannot think of.
B. We can afford to
be generous to those who take from us.
1. God can return
to us much more than that which is taken from us.
2. We have to
trust God to take care of our enemies.
C. It is best for us
not to provoke a thief, but let God get the justice.
V:30. "Give to everyone who asks of you, and whoever
takes away what is yours, do not demand it back."
A. God is generous to
us everyday in ways we are not aware of.
1. When we do acts
of kindness to others, God rewards us out of his abundance.
2. When we do not
expect anything in return for our kindness, God has a return,
greater than
our imagination.
B. We are commanded
to love our neighbors as ourselves.
1. There are
people who have never known love.
2. We may be the
first to show them Godly love.
3. When someone
takes from us, there is the opportunity to show them the love
of God.
4. Love is it's
own reward.
a. The love
we show our enemies is unforgettable to them because they are
not
expecting love.
b . Love and
kindness draws people to us.
c. Through
us, others can learn about Jesus Christ.
31 "And just as
you want people to treat you, treat them in the same way. "
A. People don't
know your love unless you show your love.
1. We must
show ourselves friendly for others to know a true friend.
2. We have a
true friend in Jesus.
3. If others can see Jesus in us, they may be
drawn to accept Jesus as their
Savior.
B. We should be
Christian role models to everyone; friends and enemies.
1. When we
let our light shine to someone in the dark, they can never
go back
to the point having not seen the light.
YOUR QUESTIONS, COMMENTS AND NOTES
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